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DenBronx
05-12-2009, 11:09 AM
Oh no...it's a bleacher report...it can't be true. :rolleyes:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/173122-the-1998-denver-broncos-the-greatest-team-in-orange-and-blue-history

While the 1997 Broncos were the first to win a Super Bowl in Denver, the year that followed, 1998, was the greatest team ever assembled in orange and blue.

Everything fell into place in 1998, as the city of Denver and the whole Rocky Mountain region was a mile high over the Broncos first ever championship season.

As Denver was defending champs, they knew they would get every team’s best, every game—but they didn’t falter through most of the season, starting a remarkable 13-0.

The run was 18 straight games dating back to the ’97 postseason, tying the NFL record that still stands today.

The 1998 Broncos were a team through-and-through, starting from the top at Pat Bowlen and going all the way down to Keith Burns' special teams standout.



Front Office

Pat Bowlen, Broncos owner in 1984, when he bought the team from Edgar Kaiser and saved it from possible bankruptcy. He showed he was one of the best owners in sports, getting the Broncos to their fifth Super Bowl in 15 years.

Bowlen fired Wade Phillips after a two year experiment process and brought in Mike Shanahan to run the team as head coach and general manager. Shanahan brought winning ways, acting as the 49ers' offensive coordinator in 1994 (when they won the Super Bowl), and his desire to do things his way—the right way.

Shanahan and offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak were revolutionaries of their time, and 1998 was the year Shanahan became “The Mastermind.”

Shanahan’s offensive vision was crystal clear, and when he combined his brain with the Broncos’ brawn, it was all over for any opponent that stood in their way.



The Players

The ’98 Broncos were a talented, athletic, and dominant group, especially on offense.

Starting with John Elway, the Broncos sent seven offensive starters to the Pro Bowl after their dramatic season was all said and done.

Elway, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, had a solid year with 2,800 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions all coming on only 12 games played after Junior Seau injured Elway’s ribs in week 13.

Bigger than his statistical performance though, was Elway’s leadership—guiding the team through a historic season, and taking questions from the media to relieve pressure off of teammates.

I remember Elway being interviewed on MNF in week 10 and Al Michaels asking him if the Broncos will go undefeated. Elway answered, “We have to go 10-0 before we can go 16-0.”

While John Elway was the undoubted leader and commander of the Broncos, their most important player in 1998 was definitely Terrell Davis.

Davis was a star that burned so bright he could only sustain his luster for a short time in the NFL.

Davis, noted sixth round draft pick out of Georgia in 1995, turned into an elevating icon that got better year after year.

From 1995-98 Davis improved his running yards steadily, with 1,100, 1,500, 1,750, and finally 2,008 yards in 1998. Davis was only the fourth running back in NFL history to run for over 2,000 yards in a season at the time.

To add to his amazing total in yards, Davis had 21 touchdowns, a 5.1 yard/carry average, and ran for 125 yards per game!

TD had so many TDs he beat Jason Elam, the Broncos kicker, in scoring.

His superior running ability in 1998 led him to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, got him the AP Offensive Player of the Year Award, and the NFL MVP trophy as well.

In 1998, not only was Terrell Davis the best running back in the league, he was the NFL’s most dominant player overall.

Along with the Broncos tremendous running game was their numerous passing threats that allowed Elway to decide how he wanted to beat opposing teams’ defenses.

Ed McCaffery and Rod Smith each had 1,000 yard receiving seasons, only the second tandem to accomplish the feat in NFL history at the time. Either Smith or McCafferey could go deep or run crossing patterns in the middle of the field, causing headaches for secondaries all season.

Shannon Sharpe was also on the team, the tight end credited with revolutionizing the game for the position. Sharpe was dominant in ’98 creating matchup problems for defenses, because he was too fast for a linebacker and could beat safeties too.

Sharpe finished the season with 768 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Possibly the best and most underrated part of the ’98 Broncos offense was the offensive line. Centered by Tom Nalen, it included fellow Pro Bowlers Dan Neil and Tony Jones. The Broncos O-Line of the late 90s was overbearing to almost any defensive line as they opened huge holes for TD to run through and kept Elway off his back.

In all, the 1998 Broncos scored 501 points, a Denver record and a staggering number when you think about it.

Denver not only won in ’98, they blew teams out regularly having 12 points per game average. Some of the biggest routes include a 41-16 shellacking of the Eagles, a 40-14 beating of the Raiders, and a 38-16 commanding win over the Redskins.

After finishing with an NFL and Broncos best 14-2 record, Denver asserted their supremacy over teams in the playoffs as well.

In a rematch with the Dolphins, who had beaten Denver three weeks prior, the Broncos took control from the beginning, winning in commanding fashion 38-3.

In the AFC Championship game, the NY Jets put up a stronger fight, but Vinny Testeverte’s untimely turnovers sealed the deal for New York as Denver won again 23-10.

The Super Bowl was intriguing because it matched up Elway versus his old coach and one time nemesis Dan Rieves, the then coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Broncos dodged a bullet of sorts when the Falcons out kicked the Vikings in the NFC Championship game—The Vikings were the only team to score more than Denver in 1998.

In the lead up to the game, Elway dispelled rumors that the two still feuded and Elway let his play talk for him.

The performance was a career best for John Elway, as he threw for 336 yards, a touchdown, and ran for another score to easily overcome the Falcons 34-19.

Elway became the Super Bowl MVP and ended up riding his back-to-back championships into the sunset,into Canton, and the Football Hall of Fame.

In all, the 1998 Denver Broncos sent 10 players to the Pro Bowl, including Elam who kicked an NFL record-tying 63-yard field goal in week eight against Jacksonville.

The team has one Hall of Famer in Elway, but should have at least a few more in the coming years joining him.

Davis may not make it, but should get some consideration.

Sharpe is an almost lock, and so is Nalen, eventually.

Others that should get a look over include Rod Smith, Steve Atwater, and Elam.

The 1998 team set many Broncos records including: overall scoring, points per game, wins, wins in a row, and finished off back-to-back Super Bowls.

If Elway doesn’t retire, who knows...the Broncos were so good they could have possibly been the first ever three-peat Super Bowl Champions.

It’s a fond idea to mull over in the Rockies, just as the 1998 Broncos should always be remembered in a fond way.

Never, before or since, have the Broncos come close to the amazing production of 1998, but we can all hope they can again soon.

powderaddict
05-12-2009, 11:57 AM
I think it's a shame that Terrell is not a sure fire Hall of Famer.

His career was short - but his records in the playoffs still stand. He was his best when the lights were the brightest. Many players come up big in the regular season, then fold in the playoffs (LT). The bigger the stage, the better Terrell was.

It's one thing to shine in the regular season. It's another to completely dominate in the playoffs, when week after week you are playing the best teams in the league.

Dirk
05-12-2009, 12:10 PM
Yeah, it's too bad that TD may never be inducted into the HOF because of his short career. His stats and play should be considered before the injury.

But being that he played for Denver, he will probably never even be considered. :tsk:

broncofaninfla
05-12-2009, 01:11 PM
1996 thru 1998 were good years for Denver (minus the Jax upset in 96). Thinking back to those teams makes me realize just how far we have to go to get back to being dominant like that again.

rationalfan
05-12-2009, 03:47 PM
wow. not familiar with bleacherreport. but this was written with entirely too much hyperbole.

still, good team.

nevcraw
05-12-2009, 06:12 PM
I think Tony Jones deserves a boat load of credit for the offensive success. He switched from right to left (taking over for a retiring Zim) and dominated..
I remember being nervous that the OL would not be as good without Zim, and it was even better.. Here's to you TJ!

BroncoTech
05-12-2009, 08:42 PM
Us Bronco fans knew we were watching something special we wouldn't see again soon during those years. We really did route teams to the point the networks would switch over to a more competitive game. I think this happened to us last year too, just the opposite way, we were taking the blow outs.

Here's the the good days, may they return soon.
:beer:

Shazam!
05-12-2009, 09:42 PM
Thinking back to those teams makes me realize just how far we have to go to get back to being dominant like that again.

Realisticly, they may get back to the promised land, but we may never see them that dominant again. It took all those years from Super Bowl blowouts and many years of frustrating defeats and suffering disappointing seasons to reach that pinnacle. I am glad that I got to see them be the dominant force in the NFL, a class above all, and that other franchises tried to mirror their success, like NE of today. I'm glad I got to see John Elway win Championships after years of losing despite all his brilliance and athletic feats. I'm glad after being torn down repeatedly by jealous critics, like Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long Elway shut them up forever. I'm glad I got to see it happen in the not-to-distant-past, not clinging to glory days of 40 years ago ala the Chiefs and Jets... or never even having those days like the Chargers.

The 1998 Broncos were one of the best Championship teams of all time. Period.

frenchfan
05-13-2009, 01:33 AM
98's Broncos were IMO the most complete O I've ever seen (with 89's 49ers may be).
They could run or pass (short, mid or long) at will.
We could control the clock.
TD was unstoppable...
Elway was... Elway... Only seeing his jersey on the field terrorized any D coach
We had so many guys who could catch the ball and also block (Eddy Mac often made great blocks for our RBs).
Our O-line was great.

A real nightmare for D...

We had tough times... Some bad SB... But we had this team too...
I'm glad to be a Broncos fan...

I hope we'll have some good times back soon.
Let's see what McD will do

Broncos forever :salute: :beer:

Shazam!
05-13-2009, 02:18 AM
I think the Broncos' blitzkrieg Defense was unappreciated too.

Sure Denver was ahead a lot, but they were good and made critical stops when needed in 1997 that propelled Denver through the Playoffs and the fabled Farve 4th & 6 from the Denver 32 in the Super Bowl.

They would've been much better respected in the timespan statistic-wise if they didn't give up 182 rush yards to Oakland and Napolean Kaufman in Week 7 in '97...back to back 80+ yard TD runs... I was so pissed and I'll never forget that one.

Dirk
05-13-2009, 05:41 AM
Those were indeed good times. It was a time when I could look at all the people around me..Raiders fans, Rams fans, Steelers fans...and say...."It's OUR TIME!"

What good memories!

frenchfan
05-13-2009, 09:26 AM
I think the Broncos' blitzkrieg Defense was unappreciated too.

Sure Denver was ahead a lot, but they were good and made critical stops when needed in 1997 that propelled Denver through the Playoffs and the fabled Farve 4th & 6 from the Denver 32 in the Super Bowl.

They would've been much better respected in the timespan statistic-wise if they didn't give up 182 rush yards to Oakland and Napolean Kaufman in Week 7 in '97...back to back 80+ yard TD runs... I was so pissed and I'll never forget that one.That's true...

Our D wasn't too bad... But I think we had a good D, but really not a great (or dominant) one...
We could be very agressive though because our O was so good... It allowed us to take some risks... Plus, we could control the ball with our running game so our D spent less time on the field...

You're right our D made some great plays anyway. And at least we had a front 7 ;) :laugh:

East Coast Fan
05-13-2009, 02:18 PM
I always describe it to non-Bronco fans this way:

1997 we were a very good team; 1998 we were a GREAT team. :salute:

Shazam!
05-13-2009, 09:16 PM
I always describe it to non-Bronco fans this way:

1996 we were a very good team; 1997-98 we were a GREAT team. :salute:

Edited!